Tony Campbell was 10 when he died on December 29, 2014, after an accidental shooting at his east-side Detroit home on Roxbury Street. He had been at the house with his older brother and cousins while his mother was at work; the children were left in the care of the mother’s 34-year-old boyfriend, Clifton Shortie Jr. At some point Shortie left the residence and a loaded shotgun that had been left unsecured in the basement was found by the children. Tony was accidentally shot in the face and later died at a hospital.

Authorities focused on Shortie’s decision to leave a loaded firearm accessible to the children. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, child abuse for failing to secure a loaded weapon, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Shortie was arraigned with bond set at $75,000; he later pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and felony firearms counts, and a judge imposed concurrent sentencing terms described as a minimum of three years and a maximum of fifteen years for manslaughter, to be served consecutively with a two-year term for the weapons conviction.

Does anyone have information about the household or events that night that could help clarify how the shotgun became accessible to the children?